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INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0219

November 16, 2000

Contact:  W. Ruland, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 10, 2000

The Weekly Information Report is compiled by the Office of the EDO and includes highlights of Headquarters and Regional Office activities.

Contact: T. Bergman, OEDO by E-mail: tab@nrc.gov.

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Indian Point Unit 2

Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison) will begin removing the core internals on or about November 11, 2000, to facilitate the inspection of the reactor vessel nozzles (VC Summer issue) and to retrieve possible foreign material in the lower vessel. Con Edison will be assisted by representatives from Westinghouse during these activities.

On November 16, 2000, the staff has planned an evening meeting with the public in the vicinity of the site to discuss the status of inspections at Indian Point 2.

Indian Point 3 Contract Negotiations

Recently the leadership of the Utility Workers of America, the union to which the operators and maintenance employees of Indian Point 3 (IP3) belong, negotiated a contract with PASNY. The rank and file turned down this contract by a narrow margin.

After the transfer of ownership of IP3 to Entergy, the plant employees will no longer be employees of the State of New York and will no longer be covered by the so-called Taylor Law, a law that prohibits them from striking. The union has called for a strike authorization vote on or about November 16, 2000.

Limerick, Units 1 & 2

Robert Fraile, currently Plant Manager at the Three Mile Island (TMI), has resigned to pursue other opportunities. George Gellrich, currently the Maintenance Director at Limerick 1 & 2, will replace Mr. Fraile, who reports to Mark Warner, Site Vice President at TMI. Edward Callen, the current Manager of I&C at Limerick 1 & 2, has been selected to replace Mr. Gellrich, who reports to Jim Von Suskil, Site Vice President at Limerick Generating Station.

October 27, 2000, Meeting with the NEI Regarding Grid Voltage Issues

On October 27, 2000, a public meeting was held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) offices in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss the grid voltage adequacy issues and the status of industry efforts in this area. The participants included members of the NRC staff and representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

As a result of a low switchyard voltage event that occurred at Callaway on August 11, 1999, the staff sent a letter on March 2, 2000, to NEI asking for industry's help to address the low switchyard voltage issues as a voluntary industry initiative. The follow-up status meeting was in response to the NEI letter dated June 26, 2000, on this subject.

NEI discussed plans and the agenda for an industry workshop in April 20001 on nuclear power plant grid reliability. Representatives from INPO and EPRI described their initiatives and experience related to ensuring adequate grid voltage to nuclear plants. These discussions included a review of the interim results of the nuclear power plant owners implementing Significant Operating Experience Report (SOER) 99-1, "Loss of Grid."

EPRI provided an overview of the Power Delivery Reliability Initiative. The grid reliability evaluation approach combines probabilistic information (e.g., transmission line unavailability and failure rate) with deterministic impact considerations (e.g., possible thermal overload or voltage stability given a grid condition has occurred) to calculate a reliability index. The evaluation of grid reliability in real time could be incorporated in the equipment out-of-service tool that many licensees use for maintenance planning purposes. EPRI plans to perform a probabilistic safety assessment of the grid using this approach for three interconnections.

Observation of FEMA EP Exercise Evaluation at Susquehanna

A member of the NRR Emergency Preparedness staff observed the implementation of the revised FEMA Exercise Evaluation process at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station during the week of October 30, 2000. NRR/EPHP staff previously assisted FEMA in the development of the revised evaluation process which is now being piloted during four nuclear plant evaluated exercises. It is expected that lessons learned from the pilot program can be used to validate and/or revise the evaluation process prior to full implementation. Several locations throughout the EPZ and the evaluation of findings were observed. There are many apparent similarities between this FEMA effort and the ROP which allowed relevant experiences gained during initial implementation of ROP to be shared.

Reactor Oversight Process

During the week of October 31, 2000, NRR staff visited in Region IV. The staff visited six residents' sites and the regional office to solicit feedback on the implementation of the reactor oversight process from licensees and regional inspectors and management. These site visits, and the opportunity to talk with the resident inspectors and regional and licensee management, are some of the ways Inspection Program Branch (IIPB) is collecting feedback on the efficacy of the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP).

On October 31, 2000, NRR issued Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2000-21," Changes to the Unplanned Scram and Unplanned Scram with Loss of Normal Heat Removal Performance Indicators," to inform power reactor licensees that a 6-month pilot test will be conducted to evaluate changes to the "unplanned scrams per 7,000 critical hours" and the "unplanned scrams with loss of normal heat removal" performance indicators (PIs) that are intended to minimize the potential for unintended consequences. This RIS also provides information on the process to be used by licensees participating in the pilot test to voluntarily submit PI data to the NRC beginning December 21, 2000.

The ROP Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel (IIEP) held its first meeting, which was open to the public, on November 1-2, 2000, in headquarters. During this meeting, the IIPB staff discussed the current status of the ROP and the self-assessment performance metrics and measures of the ROP. The next IIEP meeting is scheduled for December 11-12, 2000, in Atlanta.

NRR conducted another of a continuing series of public meetings on October 31, 2000, with NEI's working group on the ROP. Key issues discussed included: piloting the two new initiating event PIs as described in the Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS); plans for revising NEI 99-02, "Regulatory Assessment Performance Indicator Guideline," including developing a redline/strikeout version in January 2001 and issuing a revised NEI 99-02 in March 2001; Operator Re-qualification Human Performance SDP; ROP performance metrics; and Frequently Asked Questions. The next meeting is scheduled for December 6, 2000.

Reactor Oversight Process Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel Meeting & Resignation of Mr. Lochbaum, UCS from the Panel

On November 1-2, 2000, the first meeting of the Reactor Oversight Process Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel (IIEP) was held in Rockville, MD. The IIEP was formed in response to Commission direction in the Staff Requirements Memorandum from SECY-00-049, "Results of the Revised Reactor Oversight Process Pilot Program." The IIEP will function as a cross-disciplinary oversight group to independently monitor and evaluate the results of the first year of initial implementation of the Reactor Oversight Process. The meeting was attended by all panel members, with the exception of the representative from the State of Georgia and the Director of the NRC Office of Enforcement. In addition to other NRC staff, five other stakeholders attended the meeting.

The meeting was opened by the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, who welcomed the panel members and provided the vision for the panel. Administrative issues were discussed with the panel including the role of independent advisory committees, legal requirements associated with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and conflict of interests. The panel reviewed the charter and developed and approved bylaws guiding their operations. The panel agreed upon common objectives and a general approach for meeting those objectives. On the second day of the meeting, the NRR staff briefed the panel on the metrics they developed for the self-assessment of the Reactor Oversight Process. The panel members provided verbal comments to the staff for consideration in further defining and revising these metrics. The panel tentatively scheduled their next two meetings for December 11-12, 2000, in Atlanta, Georgia, and January 22-23, 2001, in Rockville, MD.

On November 6, 2000, Mr. Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) sent the Panel Chairman a letter announcing his resignation from the panel effective immediately. The IIEP Chairman is pursuing other candidates to replace Mr. Lochbaum on the panel, and the NRC staff will notify the Commission when a replacement is selected.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Consultant Services Meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency Headquarters in Vienna, Austria

From October 29-November 4, 2000, a staff member from the Spent Fuel Project Office chaired a Consultant Services Meeting (CSM) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The topic of the CSM was "Transitioning Arrangements between the 1985 (as Amended 1990) and 1996 Editions of the Transportation Regulations." The IAEA's transportation regulations (formerly known as ST-1 but recently redesignated as TS-R-1), were revised in 1996, with a baseline world-wide adoption date of January 1, 2001, by Member State regulatory bodies and international modal organizations. The adoption of these regulations will, however, be subjected to delays in most countries (including the U.S.). A draft guidance document (IAEA TECDOC series report) for regulators to use in transitioning to the new 1996 standards, was produced by the CSM. The guidance document, which is undergoing further development at an IAEA Technical Committee Meeting during the week of November 6, 2000, will then be distributed to the Transport Safety Standards Advisory Committee members with a request for publication approval.

Regulatory Development Meeting with Russian Nuclear Authorities

During the week of October 30, 2000, a Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff member and three representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) met with officials of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy and the Russian regulatory agency GOSATOMNADZOR to discuss U.S. support in the development of material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) regulations for both Russian agencies. During the meetings, the status of regulatory development was reviewed, and near-term regulation development work for the coming year was defined. The NRC's role in regulation development will be to support DOE's document review of Russian draft regulations and provide comments to be consolidated and translated by a DOE contractor.

This will be NRC's first substantive activity under the recent MPC&A Interagency Agreement with DOE. Staff will continue to pursue with DOE the definition of additional tasks for NRC consideration. Staff had requested DOE to fund meetings of NRC staff with the Russian, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan regulators to identify desired NRC support as a basis for planning and funding decisions. To date, the staff has been informed that funding is not available for Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and NRC meetings with Russian regulators are expected to be done in the context of existing DOE support activities.

Staff Participates in International Atomic Energy Agency Training Course

On October 31, 2000, staff of the Division of Waste Management participated in the IAEA/USA Interregional Training Course on "Decommissioning of Research Reactors and Other Small Nuclear Facilities," at the Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois. The staff's presentation addressed generic decommissioning topics including: (1) the NRC's principal decommissioning regulations and guidance; (2) issues encountered; and (3) lessons learned. A brief question and answer period followed the presentation.

Staff Briefs Kerr-McGee Corporation

On November 1, 2000, staff of the Division of Waste Management briefed the Kerr-McGee Corporation's Safety & Environmental Affairs (S&EA) Division (approximately 70 people) on: (1) Nuclear Regulatory Commission's mission, history, and functions; (2) decommissioning regulations and guidance; and (3) decommissioning issues and lessons learned. The briefing was provided at the request of Kerr-McGee as part of the S&EA Division's annual off-site meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Because both technical and administrative personnel attended the meeting, the presentation was tailored to a mixed audience. Kerr-McGee management and staff were very appreciative.

Participation in the 7^th International Conference and Exhibition on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

On October 30-November 2, 2000, a management representative from the Division of Waste Management participated in the 7^th International Conference and Exhibition on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities held in London, England. The representative provided a key note address outlining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decommissioning program and participated in several panel discussions addressing various decommissioning issues. The conference was divided into two major components: (1) programmatic decommissioning issues, and (2) decommissioning experiences gained from a number of sites involved in the process. The conference featured 33 speakers and was attended by approximately 250 delegates from many foreign countries.

public Meeting on Decommissioning Pilot Program Results

On November 1, 2000, the Division of Waste Management (DWM) held a publicly announced meeting at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Headquarters to gather input on the results of NRC's Decommissioning Pilot Program. Representatives from two participating pilot program licensees: Westinghouse Government Services and Viacom/CBS; the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI); ABB; several consultants; the public; and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) participated in the meeting. In 1998, in response to a Staff Requirements Memorandum on COMSECY-96-058 - Decommissioning Non-reactor Facilities (DSI 9), DWM initiated a decommissioning pilot program to test a performance-based decommissioning review process. The pilot process focused on residual contamination goals and allowed participants to decommission without obtaining an approved decommissioning plan. Westinghouse and Viacom participated in the pilot program, completed decommissioning work by the summer of 2000, and shared their lessons learned at the meeting. Westinghouse submitted a paper to NRC staff describing their experience under the pilot program, and other meeting participants (including Viacom, PADEP, and NEI) were also encouraged to send written comments on the decommissioning pilot program. Westinghouse and Viacom indicated that their experiences in the pilot program were positive, and that the revised process resulted in schedule and cost savings. Meeting participants recommended expansion of the pilot program concepts to other, more complex sites. DWM staff are evaluating the results of the decommissioning pilot program, including feedback from this meeting. Once that analysis is complete, the staff plans to inform the Commission about the pilot program's results, lessons learned, and implementation options.

Observation Audit of Argonne National Laboratory

On October 24-27, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management (DWM) observed the Department of Energy's (DOE 's) Office of Quality Assurance (QA) audit of the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The purpose of the audit was to measure the effectiveness of the ANL QA requirements. The scope of the audit included the evaluation of the effective implementation of the QA Plan for Yucca Mountain Project activities and associated implementing procedures. Testing activities of spent fuel were also observed by the audit team and DWM staff and found to be acceptable. Two potential deficiencies pertaining to maintenance of scientific notebooks and tracking of information were documented during the audit. With the exception of these two potential deficiencies, the audit team concluded that the ANL QA program had been satisfactorily implemented in the areas evaluated. The DWM staff agreed with these DOE findings and conclusion.

Resolving Saturated Zone Hydrology Issues at Yucca Mountain

On October 31-November 2, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management held a technical exchange and management meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE). The meeting focused on the technical issue of saturated zone flow at Yucca Mountain. All subissues with respect to flow in the saturated zone were "closed pending" the development of test plans and the documentation of hydrogeologic work done over the last few years. A key agreement was for DOE to acquire hydraulic and tracer test data in the valley fill aquifer south of Yucca Mountain. This is the aquifer where DOE must show compliance with both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards for a high-level waste repository.

Waste Management-Related Meeting Report Published in the Newsletter Eos

Staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research published an article summarizing important findings from a session at the American Geophysical Union spring meeting held in June 2000 in Washington, DC. The article, entitled "Unraveling Complex Hydrogeologic Systems using Field Tracer Tests," describes recent work at Yucca Mountain, the Nevada Test Site, Hanford Tanks, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, and potential radioactive waste sites in Germany and Switzerland. The report is published in the newsletter Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, in the October 31, 2000 issue (Vol. 81, No. 44, pp. 514-515). The session advanced the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards issue resolution process related to radionuclide transport.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-00-035, North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (Seabrook), SEABROOK STATION "B" EMERGENCY DIESEL GENERATOR DAMAGE DURING TESTING - SPECIAL INSPECTION TEAM.
   
   
2. PNO-II-00-046A, Newell Recycling, UPDATED INFORMATION ON SOURCE FOUND IN SCRAP METAL.
   
   
3. PNO-II-00-047, Design Fuels Corporation, GENERALLY LICENSED DEVICE FOUND.
   
   
4. PNO-II-00-048, Qore, Inc., MISSING MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE.
   
   
5. PNO-III-00-040, Aultman Hospital, BRACHYTHERAPY MISADMINISTRATIONS TO TWO PATIENTS.
   
   
6. PNO-IV-00-030, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2), POTENTIAL EXPLOSIVE DEVICE FOUND WITHIN THE PROTECTED AREA.
   
   
7. PNO-IV-00-031, Siemens Power Corporation, REPORT OF LOSS OF CRITICALITY SAFETY CONTROLS (BULLETIN 91-01 REPORT).

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of November 3, 2000 through November 9, 2000:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Media Interest

The Project Director, Project Directorate IV and Decommissioning, NRR, was interviewed by National Public Radio's "Living on Earth" program for a feature about decommissioning the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Other news stories were printed on this issue and on general spent fuel storage activities.

The Senior Project Manager, Uranium Recovery Section, NMSS, was interviewed by the Engineering News Record about the status of the Atlas mill tailings site.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to the Congresswoman Sue W. Kelly, dated November 1, 2000, provides further clarification about the agency's policy on requests for additional information in processing license amendments.
   
   
2. Letter to Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink, dated November 1, 2000, concerns new standards that would allow recycling of radioactive metals.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. First Energy Operating Company (FENOC) (Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1); Docket No. 50-440-CivP; Notice of Hearing.
   
   
2. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting.
   
   
3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting of the Subcommittee on Plant Operations; Notice of Meeting.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

NRC Management Meeting with Safety Light Corporation

On November 6, 2000, Region I met with Safety Light Corporation (SLC) management and decommissioning contractor to discuss the licensee's Decommissioning Cost Estimate (DCE) and Decommissioning Plan for the retired facilities, equipment and land at the Safety Light site near Bloomsburg, PA. The meeting was held in the Region I office and was open to public observation. SLC estimates a cost of nearly $24 million to remediate the facilities and soil to a condition that would permit an unrestricted use, based on a dose to the public of less than 25 mrem/year from applicable pathways. SLC also discussed the proposed action for final characterization and disposal of the radioactive material removed from onsite silos earlier this year.

In addition to management and staff of RI's Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, NRC participation included OGC and NMSS' Division of Waste Management (by telephone). Five representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also attended including the Director, Bureau of Radiation Protection. In addition, representatives from U.S. EPA RIII; U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Health participated by telephone.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Tennessee Valley Authority - Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

On November 2 - 7, Region II conducted an inspection of the licensee's testing of the integrity of the Unit 2 steam generator tubes. The testing was performed during a scheduled refueling outage at the Sequoyah, Unit 2 facility. The licensee's testing incorporated lessons learned from the NRC evaluation of the Indian Point 2 experience with steam generator tube inspection. The Deputy Regional Administrator attended the exit meeting at the Sequoyah facility on November 7.

South Carolina Electric and Gas - V.C. Summer - Update

The NRC Special Inspection Team continued to review the licensee activities to follow up on a crack, discovered by the licensee in a weld area of the alpha loop, hot leg pipe of the reactor coolant system (RCS) at the Summer nuclear plant. The licensee completed the ultrasonic (UT) inspection of a portion of the piping for all three loops of the RCS. The results indicated that the crack or flaw in the alpha loop may be more axial in orientation than originally predicted. There were no cracks found in the portions of the piping examined in the other loops.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Engineering and Design Inspection at D. C. Cook 1

On November 6, 2000, Region III began a two-week team inspection of system modifications at D.C. Cook Unit 1. The inspection is one of several being performed to evaluate plant preparations for restart, which is currently scheduled for early December.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 10, 2000

Regulatory Conference with Callaway

The Regional Administrator and members of his staff met with representatives of Union Electric Company to conduct a regulatory conference on November 9, 2000, in the Region IV office. The purpose of the regulatory conference was to discuss an apparent violation and three related, potentially white findings involving failures to maintain radiation doses as low as reasonably achievable. This meeting was open to attendance by members of the general public.